oil on canvas,
91cm x 61cm,
Iain White, 2016,
£350
This painting is an interpretation that builds on geometric abstraction to create a version of the landscape of the Foinne Bheinn (Foinaven) summit ridge viewed from Ganu More looking south and with Arcuil (Arkle) off to the west. It references the approach of several St Ives artists in the earlier stages of their careers, in particular the works of John Wells
Wells was at the centre of artistic activity in post-war St Ives. He was a founder member of the Crypt Group in 1946 and of the Penwith Society of Arts in Cornwall in 1949. He shared an exhibition with Winifred Nicholson at the Lefevre Gallery, London, in 1946, showed at Downing's Bookshop in St Ives in July 1947 (with Hepworth, Nicholson and Lanyon). After 1964 his work had little exposure outside Cornwall until the revival of interest in St Ives artists, marked most clearly by the Tate Gallery's 1985 exhibition St Ives: 25 Years of Painting, Sculpture and Pottery, which included seven works by Wells. Although critical opinion of Wells's work has varied, Alan Bowness suggested in 1972 that his 'paintings and constructions ... have a purity and a quality that substantiate the claim that he is the most neglected major figure of the period'
Ref: 63
